Name: Paul Stamatiou
Class year: 2008
Hometown: Houston, TX
In fifty words or less, describe yourself.
I am a young entrepreneur and self-proclaimed tech maven. Technology is my passion and I always love trying out new products and services, as well as developing my own.
Tell us about a fun side project you’ve worked on.
I have two side projects that take up a lot of my time when I’m not doing school work: my tech blog, PaulStamatiou.com, and a software startup, Skribit, that I co-founded. I have been maintaining my blog for over three years and talk about technology issues as well as review products on it. Skribit is a service I am developing along with a few others to help blogger’s overcome writer’s block by allowing their readers to suggest article topics.
Have you had a co-op or internship experience?
After Yahoo! found me from my blog in the summer of 2006 (I had reviewed a Yahoo! product and they took note), they flew me out to Yahoo! headquarters in Sunnyvale, CA to build out their corporate blog, Yodel Anecdotal. It was an amazing experience and I worked with many influential people.
Why did you choose CM?
I switched to Computational Media from Computer Engineering after realizing that I wouldn’t be able to make a large impact on the world just by myself with hardware. I picked CM to learn more about software and harnessing the power of the web to utilize it in creative ways. With the web, a single person can make a huge difference and CM has helped me take advantage by learning the skills necessary to succeed.. and it has worked. My blog is ranked by Technorati among the top 100 blogs and through it I have had opportunities like being in my own online Nike commercial.
What advice do you have for incoming CM majors?
Find a hobby and run with it! I started my website out of curiosity for the software behind it and ended up writing a lot about technology. It has worked well for me and my website is a sort of living resume, chronicling my skills and achievements.
What are your professional goals upon graduation?
If all goes well, I will be working for myself on Skribit when I graduate. I love the startup environment and mentality. I want to build a product people love and grow a happy community around it. P.S. - If you want to learn about designing online communities, I highly recommend Amy Bruckman’s CS 4803doc course.
